What is the impact of a leak in the intercooler of a centrifugal compressor on the compressor?
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What is the impact of a leak in the intercooler of a centrifugal compressor on the compressor?
How is it leaked? Air bubbles in the water?
Is that cooler for cooling oil or cooling water?
It depends on the amount of leakage. Since the pressure of the medium being transported is higher than that of the circulating water, any leakage will occur into the circulating water system. If the leakage is minor, it has no effect on the compressor; however, if the leakage is significant, it affects the flow rate at the inlet of the compressor’s second stage, which may lead to surging.
If the water pressure is higher than the suction pressure and the leakage rate is high, it is possible for liquid to be drawn in, which could even damage the impeller
One impact: Two heat exchange tubes in the third-stage cooler of the nitrogen centrifugal compressor leaked. The gas phase pressure was higher than that of the cooling water, and as gas entered the cooling water, the temperatures after heat exchange in each stage of the cooler increased. The temperature in the first stage reached the alarm threshold, and in some cases it approached the level at which operation must be stopped. After parking, it was checked that there was water in the heat exchanger’s backwash; after fixing the leak in the heat exchanger, everything returned to normal. In this case, it is estimated that air bubbles can be seen in the return water up to the cooling tower, but it’s not very noticeable.
There is another example: in an air separation unit using air compressors, a leak occurred in the copper pipes of the primary cooler. The circulating water that leaked out caused scaling on the windward side; carbonates, ammonium salts, and other substances blocked the heat exchange fins, resulting in primary surge. The entire unit, including the suction filter chamber, started to vibrate. When there was an opportunity to shut down the unit for inspection, chemical cleaning was carried out on the primary and secondary coolers, as well as on the pipes that were leaking in the primary cooler； The entire rotor is fouled; sandblasting treatment is required ； Clean the areas of the flow channel where scaling can be removed. I was anxious before dealing with it, thinking about the pressures I had to overcome; still, I feel a tightness in my chest now.
Another example: in another air separation compressor, the inter-stage cooler was leaking, allowing circulating water to enter the gas phase. This resulted in a large amount of water being drained back. Unfortunately, this water ended up leaking out from the high-pressure side gas seal of the compressor and accumulated in the bearing box cavity; it then entered the bearing return oil pipe and settled at the bottom of the oil tank. When there was a large amount of water, 6 to 7 buckets worth of 30 pounds each had to be removed daily. Later, the cooling effect was too poor; I resolved to replace all the intercoolers before the leaks stopped. It’s just that 1 of the 4 intercoolers costs over 1 million.